Lonesome Ghostbusters
by givelove1morechance
Summary: An uprising of supernatural proportions in Toontown leads a mouse, a dog and a duck to open up their own ghost exterminating business. When there's something even stranger in the neighborhood that threatens to tear the fabric of reality apart, who ya gonna call?
1. Prologue: Bride and Seek

The Toontown Public Library was quieter than usual today. Belle didn't mind. As much as she loved seeing others enjoy her books, she appreciated the lack of distraction. She turned the page of the novel on her desk, a ghost story. With autumn in the air, she was already starting to feel the Halloween spirit.

Belle glanced at the clock – a quarter to two. She gasped as she realized how much time she had spent reading. She was supposed to bring the decorations down from the attic over an hour ago. Quietly she got up, slipped a bookmark between the pages, and trotted up the stairs.

The attic was as far from the warmth and coziness of the library as one could get. Compared to downstairs the silence was oppressive. Piles of boxes, old bookcases and other bric-a-brac obscured by large dusty sheets had turned the attic into a maze, its walls composed of junk from the past. Belle shivered a little, her breath forming clouds that dissipated as quickly as they came. It was best to simply fetch what she came here for and leave. The room reminded her far too much of the story she was reading back at the desk, where a ghost or ghoul waited to pop out around every corner. Belle tried to shake that silly thought from her head. She wasn't going to let her imagination run away with her, not when she had a job to do.

On reaching the largest sheet-covered mountain, Belle pulled it away to reveal what she had been looking for. The only problem was the boxes of Halloween decorations were trapped under heavy crates full of Christmas ones. Belle groaned; she'd have to maneuver the boxes out carefully to avoid a holly-jolly avalanche. She grabbed the highest one she could reach and gently tugged. At the same time a crate from somewhere behind her crashed to the floor. Belle jumped around, startled. It took a full minute for her heart to stop pounding like a jackhammer.

The wooden crate had fallen only a few feet away. It had broke open and its contents lay spilled on the floor. Not one to work with a mess waiting to be cleaned, Belle dutifully went to it. She stopped before picking up the items, however. Lying slightly cracked on the floor was an old photograph of a man and a woman in wedding attire. The woman wore several strings of pearls around her neck and was grinning broadly. Belle turned to the other objects – an old birdcage lay on its side with the door wide open, a bouquet of wilted flowers held together with yellowed lace, and some fancy napkins still in their round holders that had rolled just out of her reach. Belle put them into the box, wondering what on earth a bunch of wedding mementos were doing in the library attic.

As she reached under a bookcase to retrieve the last napkin, she felt something there that also didn't belong. Pulling them out, she found they were two figurines of a bride and groom; they were small enough to most likely sit atop a wedding cake. Belle's face fell – the groom's head was missing, most likely broken off by the fall. After feeling under the bookcase for it for several minutes, she gave up and put them back in the box.

It was then she noticed some other figurines lying at the bottom, another couple dressed in eighteenth-century man had no head as well. Belle rummaged through the box but couldn't find it either. Her hand brushed against another pair of china knick-knacks, these being a pair of bluebirds. The more demure of the birds looked sweetly with its dull painted eyes at where its mate's head should have been.

Belle found herself searching the floor with her eyes, her gaze passing over the picture of the bride and groom. She held back a scream – the groom's head had vanished from its neck, and the bride, now sporting a new set of pearls, was smiling right at her.

Then the bride winked.

Belle kicked the picture across the floor, shot to her feet and fled, not caring about the decorations or whatever mess was left behind. A strong breeze came from nowhere and flared out the sheets all around her as she ran. By now she had been turned around so much and driven by fear that she had no idea how close the exit was. Something was following her, but nothing in the world could have made turn around to see what it was. Belle could hear it knocking over debris as it attempted to catch up to her.

The heavy beating of her heart began overpowering all other sounds. She then realized the steady, loud _thump-thump_ didn't match with her own panicked heartbeat at all. Belle turned a corner and came to face to face with her pursuer.

Several flights below, the library patrons had their studies interrupted by the sounds of mingled shrieking – one a scream of pure terror, the other a nightmarish, unearthly howl.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello and welcome to the first part of _Disney_ meets _Ghostbusters._ If 80's mashups with the Mouse isn't your thing, you're welcome to search for a good story elsewhere .

I'd like to give credit to Wolfram-and-Hart-Sauron for inspiring me to write this (check out his amazing story The Tangled Princess Bride if you want an idea of what to expect from this) and hypermegatailsfan on Deviantart also (her story _The Scarlet_ was also a big inspiration)

I was originally going to continue where the movie does after the librarian scare, but the chapter was running a little long, so I decided to split it in two. Though most of the main cast will be made up of classic characters (Mickey, Donald, etc.), some other well-known Disney favorites will appear in other roles that are suited for them, like Belle as the poor spooked librarian (but you'll have to wait and see who plays who because I'm not spoiling!)

If you like what you read and are eager to see more, please click that shiny Review button and leave your thoughts. Otherwise a ghost may follow you home...


	2. Shocking Discoveries

Less exciting things were happening at Toontown University, specifically in the office belonging to Doctors M. Mouse, D. Duck and D.G. Dawg. Dr. Mouse, or Mickey as he was known as off-campus, was sitting with his feet up on the desk counting the tiles on the ceiling for the umpteenth time.

Of course _he_ had to be the one to stay in while his colleagues ran errands out on this beautiful autumn day – at least he assumed it was a nice day. The office, which also doubled as their lab, was nothing more than a janitor's closet with extra legroom. If there even were a window to stare out of, he'd have to move aside shelves of books, equipment and other junk to get to it first. Mickey stretched and yawned. The one consolation he had was that at least he was getting paid to sit around all day.

He eyed the machinery laid out before him – a pair of electrodes next to a pack of cards. This was the other reason why he was stuck here today. As the only professors of the paranormal at Toontown U, he and his two associates were ministering an experiment on ESP. A sign on the door outside welcomed student volunteers with monetary compensation (his idea to entice them in). So far nobody had turned up. Mickey wondered if they already knew what the nature of the experiment was. He didn't like the thought of having to –

"C'mon, Min, it'll be a blast! And if not, we're still getting paid," drawled a nasally voice outside. It shook Mickey from his thoughts and he hurried to make himself presentable before whomever spoke entered. The door opened and a long nose entered followed by the mouse it belonged to – he was so skinny and tall that Mickey could only imagine him getting that way by stretching himself on the rings at the school's gymnasium for too long.

The tall mouse dragged in someone with him that couldn't be more dissimilar; she was around Mickey's height and held herself like a lady, even if her size made her look like a child compared to her partner. She clearly didn't want to be here, though he was oblivious to her annoyed stare and embarrassed pout. Her eyes were a deep dark brown half-hidden by long lashes. If she was this cute when she was angry Mickey had to wonder what she looked like when she smiled.

The young female mouse pulled her hand out of the tall mouse's grip and straightened an askew tiny bow by her ear. "You can do what you want, Mortimer, but I won't have you drag me to another -"

She stopped as she took notice of Mickey's staring. A faint blush came across her cheeks and she looked away shyly.

Mickey took a deep breath.

"Uh, h-hi. I'm Dr. Mouse. M-maybe you've seen me around campus. I'm guessing you're interested in being part of our experiment?"

"Sign us up, doc, I'm raring to go!" the tall mouse, Mortimer, exclaimed. He leaned on Mickey's desk in a faux-casual pose. "Oh, and by the way, how much dough are we gettin' for this?"

Mickey frowned. "Five bucks each," he said through gritted teeth.

"Well ha-cha-cha! That makes ten between the two of us, Min! Let's get this party started!" Mortimer flipped open a folding chair and plunked himself on it. He patted one of his legs and winked at the girl, who grimaced.

"I don't really know..." She turned to Mickey. "Will it hurt in any way?"

Mickey couldn't blame her for wanting to get away from the creep sitting before him. He certainly didn't want to put her through what the trial would entail also. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, not at all. Trust me, I've done this plenty of times before." He opened a chair for her. "Of course, this is voluntary, so you don't have to if you're not up to it Miss..."

"Minnie. Minnie Mouse."

Her worried glance turned into a shy grin, and Mickey felt like the sun came out through the clouds.

She took a seat and Mickey slid her in. He sat opposite her and Mortimer and reviewed his clipboard.

"So, in case you're not familiar with what this experiment is about, we're studying the effects of ESP -"

"ESP? What, are ya lookin' for, the sports channel or something?" Mortimer cracked up laughing at his own joke, unaware that Minnie and Mickey weren't laughing with him. Mickey continued.

"ESP, Mr. Mortimer, is what we experts like to call 'extrasensory perception'. A sixth sense, as it were. Psychic abilities like telepathy and clairvoyance, anything done through the power of the mind can be qualified as ESP. Our studies show that all people have flashes of these abilities from time to time, some more than others."

"Of course, I knew that! I have ' _déjà view_ ' all the time, ain't that right, Min?" Mortimer put his arm around Minnie and pulled her close to him, much to her and Mickey's discomfort.

"This experiment requires bringing out ESP through...physical stress."

"Pfft, you gonna make us run through a maze? Ha!" Mortimer guffawed obnoxiously.

"No, Mortimer, just put your finger in this and we'll begin."

Mickey gestured to the electrodes, which had two openings wide enough for a finger to fit into. Two dials were attached by a cable. Mortimer stuck his finger in a hole and Minnie did the same. Mickey flipped a switch and the electrode hummed with life.

"Now, the test is very simple. I'm going to hold up a card that has a symbol drawn on it. If you can guess what it is, you're doing swell. If not…then you get a shock."

Mortimer, who had been casually overlooking his fingernails while Mickey was explaining, quickly turned to him. "Say what now?" "Oh my!" squeaked Minnie.

"Don't worry, it's just a small shock. You'll barely feel a thing," Mickey said apologetically to her. "Just to prove it, you can go first." Minnie sat back in her seat, but still felt a bit unnerved. "Well, all right."

Mickey picked up a card and held it with its back facing Minnie. "Concentrate. What is it?" Minnie squirmed a little as she thought hard. "Umm….a star?"

Mickey glanced at the card – it was a circle.

Normally Dr. Mouse would never have condoned tampering with an experiment to change the outcome to his favor. Then again past experiments didn't involve shocking a rather charming young woman he'd like to get to know better.

"Correct."

Minnie breathed a sigh of relief. Mortimer, who was watching fearfully, smirked. "Ha! Piece of cake. Come on, doc, let me have a go at it!"

Mickey picked up another card, a star this time. "What is it?"

"A square!" Mortimer answered without stopping to think.

Mickey knew he was going to like this more than he should. He flipped the card over and Mortimer's face fell from triumph to astonishment. "Nope, sorry," Mickey said in a chipper voice. He switched the dial to the lowest setting. Mortimer cringed as several volts of electricity bolted through him.

Mickey switched it off and held up a third card. Minnie thought carefully before answering. "A circle?" she ventured.

She was wrong again, but nothing could convince Mickey to tell the truth. "Very good. Very, very good!" Mortimer frowned at Minnie's good fortune. He too thought hard before answering at his turn. "Plus sign?"

Mickey answered by giving him double the previous voltage. He tried not to grin as Mortimer squirmed in his seat. By the time he was done, his hair beginning to stand on its end. Mickey wondered if he should keep it up but he caught Minnie stifling a giggle at how funny Mortimer looked. He picked up another card.

"Figure eight?" Minnie guessed. "Incredible. You can't see through these, can you?" Mickey said, pretending to be amazed. He relished Mortimer's jealous growl as she blushed at his compliment. Mickey held up the next card.

"Ahh…a couple of wavy lines?" Mortimer asked before steeling himself for the next shock.

To Mickey's displeasure, he was correct. Maybe this experiment did have some credence to it after all. Still, why stop the fun now?

"Sorry Mortimer. It's just not your day, I guess." He dropped the card and reached for the dial.

In a panic Mortimer outstretched his hand to stop him "Wait!"

As Mickey turned the dial to its next-highest setting, Mortimer wrenched his hand off it – along with the dial itself.

Mortimer fizzled and shook uncontrollably as all the power of the electrode shot through him. Electricity crackled through his hair and between his ears. The light in the room as well as all over the campus flickered. "MaAaAaAke iIiIiIt SsSsStoOoOoOpPp!" he cried out.

"Oh dear! Do something quick!" Minnie implored Mickey. Mickey tried to jam the dial back in, but it had been ripped clean out with some of the wires still attached.

He quickly remembered that the electrodes were plugged into the wall behind him. With one swift tug he pulled it out. The resulting final shock sent Mortimer flying backward into a pile of old equipment. His hair and clothes smoked faintly but he seemed unharmed otherwise.

After a second of staring off into nowhere, he shook himself off and got to his feet. "I'm beginning to think you're doin' this just to spite me, Mouse," he grumbled.

"You volunteered, didn't ya?" Mickey spat back.

"Yeah, but I didn't know you were gonna give me electric shocks! What are you tryin' to prove here anyway?" The two stood toe-to-toe and eye-to eye, even though one dwarfed the other by a considerably margin. Mickey glowered. "The effects of negative reinforcement on ESP, and judging on how you broke an important piece of equipment and nearly got yourself fried as a result, I'd say my theory is correct!"

"Oh yeah? Well, you can keep the five bucks, pal! I'm outta here! Come on, Minnie!" Mortimer stormed out, spiriting Minnie away with him before she could say a word. The door slammed so hard it rattled the frosted glass in the window.

Mickey sighed and began cleaning up the mess. He mentally berated himself for trying to show off the way he did for a girl he just met. Still, she was pretty. Shame there was no way he'd probably see her again after this.

To his surprise, there was a knock at the door. Before he could answer, Minnie entered. "Hi, mind if I come in?" Mickey gulped. "Uh, sure. Make yourself at home." Minnie closed the door. "I told Mortimer I left my purse here. I hope you don't mind." She got on her knees and helped Mickey pick up some debris. "Not at all!" Mickey chuckled. "I just hope you don't hate me for shocking your boyfriend." Minnie made a sour face. "Boyfriend? Of course not! Mortimer's just a friend, a highly clingy, annoying…friend," she said uncertainly. Inwardly Mickey felt a huge weight being lifted. "Still, I feel awful for putting you through that. Lemme make it up to you." He searched his pocket for his wallet.

Minnie giggled. "That's ok. Keep the money. I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt by anything he said." "Me? Aw shucks, I got tough skin. Comes with bein' a doctor," Mickey said as fiddled with the lapels on his jacket. "You look awfully young to be one. Ever since I got here most of the teachers I've seen are funny old men." Now it was Mickey's turn to blush. Was she hinting to what he hoped she was? "Ah, well, I've done a lot of things before going back to college. I'd like to tell you more about it if you have the time." "Maybe over dinner tomorrow?" Minnie asked. Mickey smiled. "Gosh, maybe you really are psychic," he said. "Why's that?" "'Cause you read my mind."

It was a cheesy line and they both knew it, but neither of them would say anything about it. They could only look into each other's eyes and sink into the inevitable pause when neither one wanted to be the first to say goodbye.

Perhaps they might have gone on gazing for eternity had not someone come bursting through the door.

"Mickey, you're not gonna believe whahaaahaaooow – "

The lanky figure of Dr. Dippy "Goofy" Dawg tripped over his own shoelaces, flew across the desk, taking everything with him, and crashed into a bookcase, which, had the desk not stopped it, would have fallen on top of him. Instead, all the contents were dumped on him from the tipped shelves. All in all, it was one of his more graceful entrances.

Mickey ran to help his friend. After some digging, Goofy emerged a little dazed but unharmed. "Gawrsh, thanks Mickey. I owe you one," he chuckled. "Aw, it was nothin' pal," Mickey said, "though if Donald was here, I know he'd say something like 'you owe me a lot of ones by now', heh heh." "Yep, he probably would. Speakin' of, Donald sent me to tell you – " Goofy then noticed Minnie standing in the room with them. "Well hey there! Who's your friend, Mickey?"

"Oh, this is Minnie. Minnie, this is my colleague, Dr. Dippy Dawg." Minnie held out her hand, which Goofy shook heartily. "It's a pleasure to meet you, doctor." "Aw shucks, just call me Goofy! Everybody does," he replied. Minnie smiled and turned to Mickey. "Well, I'll let you get back to your work, Mickey. Is eight o'clock all right?" "Yeah, uh, see ya real soon," Mickey squeaked out. With another winning smile, Minnie left the office. Mickey sighed, hearts clouding his vision.

"She sure was nice, wasn't she, Mick?" Goofy's voice snapped him out of his lovesick trance.

"Uh, yeah, real swell. So, what'd Donald send you back here for?"

"You remember his cousin Gyro? We bumped into him on the street and he asked if we could pick up some books for him at the library. When we got there we heard this hollerin' from the attic somebody'd seen a ghost. Turns out they did! Scared the socks off some poor librarian! Donald knew Gyro'd want to hear all about it 'cause he's been lookin' into this sort of ghost stuff lately, so he told me to get the camcorder and anything else we might need to record it!"

"Sounds great, pal! I'll come with ya!" Mickey replied, eager to get out of the stuffy office. Goofy shook his head. "Sorry, Mickey. You've gotta stay here and run that electro-test, remember?" "Hate to break it to you, Goofy, but the test's off. Our only volunteer broke the electrode." "Aw, shucks. Ya think the school'll give us another?" asked Goofy. "Considering what we were using them for, probably not," Mickey shrugged. "Lemme help you find the camera."

Mickey and Goofy spent several minutes searching through boxes of discarded equipment until they found what they were looking for – an old box-shaped video camera the size of Mickey's head. A dusty videocassette was wedged inside. "Boy, I didn't think the budget they gave us was THAT bad," he murmured. Mickey hauled the camera on to his shoulder while Goofy scooped up a camera, microphone, and an assortment of other scientific equipment into his arms. "Ya think this is enough?" he asked, peeking around his mountain of holdings. Mickey nodded the best he could. "Pretty sure, yeah. Let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, the two had reached the Toontown Public Library. Mickey scanned the area until he found a white feathered rump sticking out from under a table which could only belong to one person. With a sneaky grin, Mickey crept up behind him and moaned "Oooohhhh….Donaald, we're coming to get you Donaaald…" Goofy dropped everything he was carrying on to the table with a clatter, causing Donald to bang his head on the table's underside with a loud "AWK!" He crawled out glaring at his friends. "Now why'd ya hafta go and do that?" he quacked as he rubbed his temples. Mickey noticed the stethoscope he was wearing and felt a pang of remorse. "Ha ha, sorry pal, just foolin' around. Whatcha doing down there anyway?" Donald stuffed something from under the table into his shirt pocket and stood up. "Lookin' for more ghosts while waitin' for you guys to show up."

A canine in a red waistcoat and a tiny pair of pince-nez approached them. "Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I'm Dr. Doppler, library administrator. I assume you're from the university also?" Mickey shook hands with the doctor. "Yeah, I'm Dr. Mouse. You already met Dr. Donald and Goofy – uh, Dawg." "Yes, yes." Doppler patted his forhead with a handkerchief. "I'm hoping we can clear this matter up as quickly and quietly as possible. If you'll follow me, please."

Doppler led them to a small anteroom where a pale young woman was lying on a worn couch. She sat up as they entered and regarded them with haunted hazel eyes. "Belle, these men are from the local college. They're interested in researching…well, I'll let you tell them."

Mickey shuffled forward. "Uh, hi, Miss Belle. Can you tell us what you saw up there?" Belle swallowed. "I'm not sure what Dr. Doppler has said to you, but I went up to the attic to retrieve some things for Halloween, and –" "Well gawrsh, maybe your ghost was a doo-hickey on a stick! I know those startle me all the time," suggested Goofy. "It wasn't that!" Belle shot back. "It floated off the floor and I couldn't see its legs but I know it had arms because it reached out for me…" Belle buried her face in her palms and stifled a sob. "I don't even want to think about it."

Donald fished a notepad from his pocket. "Ah, this is goin' nowhere. Gyro said there's a way of dealin' with this and it starts with answerin' some questions." He flipped through the pad until he found a particular page. "Lemme see…"Do you or anyone else in your family have any medical or mental history we should know about?"" he read.

Belle regarded him with an icy stare. "My father's a little eccentric, but he's certainly not crazy. No one in my family is, except one uncle who – well, maybe let that pass." "Uh-huh…" Donald scribbled something on the pad before reading from it. "Do you ha-bit-tu-all-ly abuse drugs or alcohol?" Belle shook her head. "Ok…how often do you work and what nights are you off?" He flashed what he thought was a winning grin and a wink.

Dr. Doppler studied the pad over Donald's shoulder as he continued his line of questioning. "Are you sure some of these questions are appropriate for –" His eyes popped wide open. "Good heavens! What does THAT have to do with the current situation?!" he cried pointing at the offensive query. Donald gave the doctor a deadpan glare. "Back off, pal. I'm a scientist."

Something in Donald's pocket lit up and buzzed. He took out what looked like a remote control with two tiny arms embedded with lights sticking out. "Uh-oh, either this thing's outta whack or whatever's up there is makin' trouble' right now." "I'll go get the camera," said Goofy. "I'll come with ya," Mickey replied. "And I'll…stay here for emotional support." Donald planted himself on the couch next to Belle.

Mickey rolled his eyes, whisked his colleague to his feet and patted Belle's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry, miss. We deal with this kind of stuff all the time, don't we, fellas?" "We do?" answered Goofy. Donald nudged him in the rib hard. "Oh, uh, sure we do!" Belle wiped her eyes. "I don't want you to think I'm crazy. Of all the years I've worked here, this has never happened before." "And it won't happen again," declared Mickey. "Fellas, let's get to it!" They left the room only for Donald to return a second later. " And if you need anything, all you have to do is – woah!"

Mickey pulled the protesting duck back out back out before he could finish. "Hey! What's the big idea?! Lemme go!" he squawked.

Mickey released him and put his hands on his hips discerningly. "Donald, you called us over here to looks at this ghost-thing for Gyro. The least you can do is see the job done." "You're not a-scared, are ya?" Goofy asked.

Donald puffed up his chest and put up his fists to show just how brave he was. "Me? Scared? Nah, lemme at it. I can take it!"

Mickey glanced at the stairs leading up to the attic and hoped they could.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I had intended to finish and put this up sooner, but hey, better late than never I suppose. Originally I was going to end the chapter with our three heroes meeting whatever's haunting the library attic (I know one of you already guessed what it could be) but I felt it was running a bit long.

For anyone familiar with the movie, I made Minnie the girl Venkman hits on during the ESP test, but don't worry, she has a MUCH bigger role to play in things to come. This is just my way of introducing her and getting her to meet Mickey. I admit I had a little too much fun torturing Mortimer, ha! As for the line leading up to the famous "Back off" one, well, that's my way of getting around something very un-Disney-ish that would feel kind of awkward if I left it in (I take the Annie Hall approach when it comes to cartoon characters' biology; if you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the "Snow White" clip from that movie).

Also while writing this, I realized maybe I could have made someone like Sylvia from An Extremely Goofy Movie the librarian (she is one, after all) but I felt it was too late to change it; plus I also wanted to show that this Toontown isn't limited to just the anthropomorphized classic toons we know and love, human characters live here too.

On a sadder note, I recently learned that Alan Young, the voice of Scrooge McDuck, has passed away. He was well into his 90's and I admire that he continued playing the character with as much liveliness and humor as he did back when he first started in "Mickey's Christmas Carol". Disney nearly always manages to find great voices for their characters when the previous ones move on, but his will be a tough act to follow. In the spirit of things, I will say that Scrooge plays a big part later in the story, but what it is I'm leaving a surprise.

'Til we meet again, fellow readers, be sure to leave your thoughts if you liked this story and want to see more.


	3. Bride and Seek - Round 2

The trio stalked through the attic, leaving footprints in the thick carpet of dust on the floor. "How are we gonna find where this ghost feller is?" Goofy asked. "I don't know, this thing's supposed to tell us but I can't make heads or tails of it." Donald shook the remote, which raised its tiny, lit arms and beeped at random intervals.

"What exactly is it anyway?" said Mickey, curiously eyeing the device. "Gyro called it a PKE meter, says its for measuring ghost activity. But he didn't bother to tell us how it worked!" His face turning red, Donald knocked the meter against a cabinet several times until Mickey had to wrestle it away from him. "Donald, this is the only thing we got that can help us. You can't let your temper get in the way now!" Donald took a deep breath. "Fine, then YOU try using it."

Mickey held the meter out and slowly scanned the room with it. The beeping stopped, the arms lowered…and rose back up as something white flitted around a corner. "This way! Come on!" Mickey led Goofy and a grumbling Donald with the meter. The way it was pointed made it look like an arrow pointing them in the right direction.

As they turned a corner, they came face to face with an unusual sight -

A stack of books in the shape of an upside-down pyramid blocked their path.

"Huh. Didn't expect to see that," mused Goofy. "Tape it," ordered Mickey. "Hang on…what's that?"

Dripping down the side of the pyramid was a thick gooey substance. "Hmm, maybe whoever did this tried to glue it together so it wouldn't fall apart," Goofy remarked. Donald rolled his eyes. "I've never seen any kind of glue that looked like that," he said suspiciously.

And he was right – it was colored a phosphorescent blue, which didn't make it look any less disgusting. "You know I think I read about this once. Ecto-pus it was called, or somethin' like that," Goofy pondered as he studied the stuff. Donald facepalmed. "Not ecto-pus, _ectoplasm_. Some ghosts leave it behind in places they've haunted."

"We should take some of it with us." Mickey carefully removed a tiny petrie dish from the stack of equipment Goofy was carrying in addition to the camera he was balancing on his shoulder. "Are you sure?" said Goofy, "they might come back looking for it later." Mickey said nothing as he scraped the ectoplasm off with the side of the dish and sealed it.

As they ventured forward, a sense of dread pervaded the group. They wouldn't admit to the feeling that something was watching over them, silently waiting. They followed wherever the PKE meter directed them without making a sound in the dark. Mickey tried not to show his apprehension. His place at the front of the group hid him from the fact that the others were failing to do the same.

With a deafening creak a bookcase tipped over and crashed on the floor inches from where they stood. Mickey fell back on Donald and Goofy while they clung to each other. "M-m-maybe we should come back with Gyro," stuttered Donald. "Good idea," Goofy replied. Mickey gulped. "I agree, this place is starting to get to me. I feel like my heart's going a mile a minute." "Mine too. I can't think with all this poundin' in my head," said Donald as he placed his hands on his head. "Well gawrsh, you fellers got some loud tickers then, 'cuz I can hear them too."

That's when they realized they all heard the same heart, beating steadily and loudly close by.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy slowly poked their heads around a stack of crates.

A pale figure in a wedding dress and veil steadily paced through the open space of the attic. Around her neck were several strings of pearls, which added more unearthly luminescence to her bluish skin. She playfully hummed the wedding march in time to the ghastly heartbeat. To their horror, they could see the heart itself through her chest, glowing a hellish red with every beat.

The PKE meter rapidly blinked and beeped noisily. The bride stopped and turned towards the commotion. Mickey, Donald and Goofy hid from her gaze as quick as a flash.

For a full minute they were frozen to the spot, unable to run or speak. Mickey broke the silence with a hushed whisper. "Well…it's here, and it's real." "Whaddawe do now?" pleaded Donald. "Um, maybe we should say hello," Goofy offered. "Well that's a great idea," Donald replied sarcastically. "Maybe we should invite it downstairs for tea and cookies!" "He's right," Mickey interjected. "One of us has to talk to it, maybe see why it's here." Donald and Goofy nodded, but didn't volunteer. After several long seconds of their staring, Mickey shrugged. "Fine." Donald and Goofy watched from the safety of their hiding place as Mickey stepped out towards the ghost.

The bride had its back to him as he came forward. "Um, hey there. I'm, uh, Mickey Mouse. You know, Mickey Mouse? Maybe you've heard of me…I hope."

The bride did not pay him any heed; instead she started humming again. "I was hopin' maybe you could tell us where ya come from…what you're doin' here…why you're so interested in scarin' librarians…"

Something rustled through the boxes in the attic, startling Mickey. The ghost continued to ignore him. Eventually Mickey went back to his friends.

"It didn't work. Maybe she'll respond to one of you guys." Donald took a deep breath and pushed up his sleeves. "All right, guess it's my turn." He plowed ahead with a confident stride that lost its momentum the closer he got to the incorporeal bride. "Listen lady, my friend came over to say hello. The least you can do is say hi back. Now I'm gonna give ya to the count of ten to –"

The sudden rustling grew louder and more agitated. Donald backed away quickly, not noticing the bride was clutching something tightly. He slumped to the floor once he was safe in the company of his friends. "All right, that didn't work either. Now what?"

Goofy, feeling the pressure was on him now that his two friends' attempts were unsuccessful, thought as hard as he could. If the ghost wasn't interested in anything they had to say, he doubted she'd listen to him either (though he did think she looked rather pretty in that dress). A gift, maybe – but what bride would be interested in a bunch of scientific equipment, or a video camera about as old as half the things that were in this attic? If Gyro were here, he'd know what to do.

Then his eyes fell upon a pair of nets standing across from them.

"Okay, I think I got somethin'. Grab those –" Goofy pointed to the nets "- and do what I do on three." Mickey and Donald grimaced at each other but took them anyway. Goofy laid down all his baggage as carefully as he could on the floor but held on to the camera. "One, two, three."

Goofy leaped out in the open with Mickey and Donald, their nets at the ready. He pointed at the bride and shouted, "Get her!"

The bride lunged at them with a bonechilling howl. A blast of wind lifted her veil, revealing two yellow eyes in a black void where a face should have been. From out of every box and sheet burst a skeletal face that screeched demonically.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy screamed and fled for their lives. As they reached the attic's entrance, a gleaming axe flew above their heads and embedded itself above the door. None of them stopped to see where it came from. They flew down the stairs, back through the main hallway and past Dr. Doppler. "Did you see what it was?" he called after them. "We'll get back to you on it!" Mickey yelled back.

Not a minute later, Doppler heard three wooden crunches in succession, and upon reaching the front door found the outlines of all three professors smashed through it.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I've become that I never wished to be – someone who starts a story but either never finishes or take a year to update. Though now I can understand why that happens – life, work, the usual, and of course being your own worst critic. I apologize to any of my readers if I left you hanging. Special thanks to DanSolo0119 for inspiring me to get back on track. Be sure to go check out his work!

As you may have noticed I gave Mickey Donald and Goofy bits of the main three Ghostbusters' personalities and lines rather than assign them to just one character each. This was because I had a difficult time making them fit them into the individual roles while having them maintain their original character. So Donald and Mickey share Venkman's snark (though much of the attitude goes to Donald), Mickey and Goofy have Ray's childish excitement (but mostly Goofy), and though Gyro will provide Egon's technical know-how in the coming chapters, Mickey will take charge concerning those things as well (and Goofy occasionally, because there's nothing funnier when someone like him tries to sound smart). I'm leaving Winston's identity a mystery though, and I think some of you might be pleasantly surprised when he pops up.

Looking back on it, I wish that I ended the last chapter with this scene, but at the time I hadn't had it fully written out yet. I was going to combine it with the next chapter but ultimately decided to make it its own. Expect the next one sometime very soon! Any reviews are much appreciated, and thank you for reading!


	4. Getting Startled in the Business

" 'Get her?' That was your best plan?" Mickey asked once they were far enough away from the library. Goofy finally managed to catch his breath. "Well, I figured if we couldn't bring Gyro to the ghost, maybe we could bring the ghost to Gyro." "Oh brother," Donald murmured. Mickey chuckled to himself; now that the danger had passed, the scene they were in seemed almost comical to him now. "Boy, this is somethin' I can't wait to tell those highbrow know-it-alls about back at the university."

"The university! The equipment!" Donald cried. "Aw, we left it back at the library! How are we gonna tell anyone about this ghost now?" "It's ok, Donald. Look, I still got the ectoplasm." Mickey removed the dish from his pocket and showed it to him. "And I got everything all recorded," Goofy said patting the heavy camera. Mickey grinned. "All we need to do is show it to the board of the directors and it's goodbye broom closet, hello leg room!"

Mickey got off the elevator with a spring in his step and his friends right behind. To their surprise they saw a group of burly movers were pushing the desk through the door of their office. Supervising them was one of the more noteworthy faces on campus, Professor Ludwig Von Drake. "That's it, boys, steady now…Don't-don't drop that – oh, look at that. Whatever it was you broke? That was very expensive, I'll have you know."

He noticed the trio standing nearby. "Ah, gentlemen, perfect timing!" "Look, Mickey! The professor's already movin' us to a new room, just like ya said!" Goofy spoke up. Von Drake rose an eyebrow. "Eh? What's this about a new office?"

"Uh, maybe later," Mickey waved him off. "Professor, you would not believe what we found at the library." He fished through his pockets until he found the container of ectoplasm. "Today we've gotten proof that ghosts are real!"

Von Drake raised the other eyebrow until it matched its twin…and then burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a good one, boys. You almost had me going for a second."

"But we do!" cried Mickey. "Goofy, show him the tape." Goofy took the videocassette out of the camera. "Here it is! Anything else you want me to show?" "No, he means play it, ya big palooka!" Donald swiped the tape out of his hands and jammed it back in the camera. A side screen popped out and Goofy pushed the play button.

Static filled the screen before it cut to black. The sounds of their investigation played out, though the view didn't change. "Gawrsh, it was darker up in that attic than I thought," Goofy remarked. "Uhh, fast forward it a little," Mickey said, nervously eyeing the bemused professor. Goofy hit the fast-forward button, speeding the vocals up to a chipmunk pitch, but the screen remained black.

Mickey began to sweat. "Goofy, you did remember to take the cap off the lens, right?" Goofy nodded. "Of course I did! But I didn't wanna lose it so I put it back on."

Donald muttered inaudible insults through his hands. Mickey gulped, and then remembered the petrie dish he held. "W-well, that's not all, though! Look at this!" He showed Von Drake the container of blue goo. "Somebody sneezes and you hold on to it? Sheesh! No wonder you're getting fired!" drawled a horribly familiar voice behind them.

Mortimer, now sporting bandages on his face and body, leaned on the wall behind them with an infuriating grin. Von Drake frowned. "Now, now, Mr. Mouse. There's no need to rub it in. I didn't even get around to telling these boys the bad news yet." "WHAT?" shouted Donald. "Fired?" Goofy yelped. Mickey glared at Mortimer, then at Von Drake. "Professor, I demand an explanation!"

"Don't bother, doc, I got this one." Mortimer pushed the professor aside before he could answer. "After your shock therapy session I went to Von Drake to tell him all about it. You might've gotten away with causing me indescribable, _excruciating_ amounts of physical pain – not to mention the effects on my fragile psycho –" Mortimer paused to sniffle and wince melodramatically " - if it weren't for a little something called a release form. Ever hear of it, shorty?" Mickey groaned. How could he forget about that? One little slip of paper stood between him and his job, and now his carelessness was about to cost him everything.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid everything this Mortimer fellow said was true," Von Drake said as he held up the notice formerly on the office door, "but it's not just the fact that you hurt an innocent student for the sake of an experiment that the school's shutting you down." "Whaddaya mean?" Mickey asked.

"Well, let me put it this way – here at the university we view science as man's eternal progression to better understand and serve the world around him. This kooky paranormal study you've got? That's not science! Your methods are messy, your theories are the silliest kind of trrrripe, and your conclusions – well, there's none to speak of! Don't take it personally, but you, Dr. Mouse, are a very poor scientist," chuckled the professor.

Donald stormed to his friend's side. "Yeah? And what about us?" "Oh, my dear nephew, getting you three a job here was tough in the first place. You can stay on in a different department, however –" Von Drake pulled out a wide-bristled broom from the former office and handed it to Donald. "The janitorial department!" Mortimer smirked. "Hey, it suits you, duck! If you ever need a duster, just use your butt! Ha, ha, ha!"

Donald's face turned flame-red. His sharpening grip nearly snapped the broom in half. Von Drake conspiratorially whispered to the humiliated trio. "Don't take it so hard, fellas. Confidentially, this fellow's this close to getting the boot himself. His grades, hoo! They could sink a ship!"

Von Drake spared them the humiliation of being escorted out by security, but that didn't make the trudge off of campus any less disheartening. Donald forlornly kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. "Aw, phooey! Who needs that dumb ol' school anyway?" Mickey shook his head. "I don't know, Donald. They had everything we needed; room and board, good pay, health insurance, teacher discounts at the movies…"

"Buck up there, lil' buddy," Goofy said with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It ain't the first job we lost, and if we stick together, it won't be last." "Yeah, Goofy's right, sorta," chimed in Donald. "Besides, we can always go back to bein' mechanics." "Yeah! Or firefighters!" Goofy said with a smile. "Or the pit crew down at the raceway," reminisced Donald. "Sandwich makers-"

"Car washers –"

"Clock cleaners-"

"Moose hunters-"

"Organ donors-"

"Polo players –"

"Boat builders-"

"Turkey catchers-"

"Roller coaster painters-"

"All right, all right fellas!" Mickey cut them off. "We did a lot of cool stuff together over the years. It'd be nice to have something we could hang on to for a while, though."

Up the street jogged a lanky bird in glasses and a lab coat. He held his yellow hat on to his head as he ran up to the three friends. "Don…Donald!" he gasped for breath. "There you are…I've been looking…all over for you!" Donald steadied him before he could collapse. "Aw, nuts. I knew we forgot to do somethin' after we left." Donald introduced Mickey and Goofy to his cousin, the scientist Gyro Gearloose, and explained the situation they were now in. "Gosh, that's awful, Donald. Why don't you and your friends come to the lab for some lunch, maybe we can find something that'll help you out." Gyro hailed them a cab and they sped towards his home.

Gyro's lab was a large shed that, over time, had expanded further in every possible direction until it nearly dwarfed his modest one-story home. Satellite dishes and antennas stuck out from the rooftop, and cables snaked out from the one window into a large mutli-faced outlet on the side of the house.

Inside was an even more cluttered collection of scientific equipment, blinking lights, and printers giving out constant readings. Gyro had barely enough room cleared for the four of them to sit around a table and enjoy some slapped together sandwiches and coffee. What really drew Mickey's attention, however, were the hastily pinned-up diagrams, notes and pictures of different kinds of ghosts trailing along the walls.

"So, uh, Gyro, Donald told us you were lookin' into studying ghosts now?" he asked. "That's right!" Gyro eagerly answered. "With funds for my inventions beginning to dwindle and Halloween fast approaching, I thought it'd be a great idea to set up a haunted house attraction to raise money. I've visited a few to get an idea of how they work, but they've failed at the most important thing of all."

"What's that?"

"The ghosts," replied Gyro. "They're all sheets on a string or a spooky mask glued to a stick that pop up whenever someone walks past, not how a real ghost would appear or act at all! I thought that by studying ghosts I could learn about what makes them tick, perhaps find a way to recreate their essence to make this haunted house as genuine an experience as possible."

"Ah, I'd hate to break it to you Gyro, but a haunted house that's full of real ghosts? That might scare more folks away than bring 'em in," Donald added hesitantly. "Maybe you're right Donald," Gyro said, "but if I were paying to visit one, then I'd want my money's worth. Helper, more coffee please."

A tiny robot with a light bulb for a head carefully tiptoed around the scattered tools and debris with the coffee pot. It couldn't avoid stepping on a remote pointed at a small television set however. With a click the tv popped on, showing a newscaster outside the Toontown Library.

"Eyewitnesses report the disturbances have moved from the attic to the main floor, with books flying out of reach and shelves falling over of their own accord. Others claim to have heard amplified heartbeats and seen a figure in white pursuing them with an axe, but with Halloween only several weeks away there's no telling if this is a large-scale prank or something a bit more sinister." The reporter finished the last statement with a condescending air not unlike Von Drake's earlier patronizing. "Whatever the case, it has been confirmed that these disturbances will not affect normal library services."

The scene cut to Dr. Doppler on the steps of the library confronting a group of reporters. "Now, now, there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Until we find the cause I can assure you our hallowed halls will remain open to the entire town."

A crack of thunder through the sunny blue sky and a chilling laugh from the library's upper window struck the reporters and Dr. Doppler silent.

"…As I was saying, the library will be closed until further notice," Doppler concluded before cutting his way through the masses.

Gyro switched off the tv. "Fellas, did you happen to bump into anything unusual while you were at the library?" he asked. "Well if by unusual you mean a psycho bride runnin' 'round the attic trying to kill us then yeah, I think we did," replied Donald. Mickey showed Gyro the dish of ectoplasm. "We weren't able to get it on camera, but we do have this."

The inventor's eyes shot wide open. "Physical proof! Gentlemen, the haunted house will have to wait. I have a feeling we've stumbled on to something even greater." Gyro took the dish and placed it under what appeared to be a microscope with two Tesla coils welded on. "Keep talking, what else happened?" he asked as he closely inspected the goo.

"I told the others to grab a net and we tried to nab it for ya," Goofy said. "If we did then it wouldn't be causin' any trouble. Maybe if we got a bigger net…" Can't be that hard, could it?" "Oh brother, again with the ghost catching," Donald rolled his eyes. "Goofy, if you think we can make a living outta that, I'll buy you a dozen candy bars."

"Actually, Donald, Goofy's not too far off the mark," answered Gyro. Donald eyed his cousin suspiciously. "Whaddaya mean?" Gyro turned away from the ectoplasm with an excited gleam in his eyes. "Judging by the ion rate of this ectoplasm and the tests I've been running with my equipment, I think we could stand a chance of catching and trapping a real ghost."

"You really mean that? Is it even possible?" Mickey asked. "It's more than possible, friends. It's a breakthrough too big to ignore!" crowed Gyro. "I knew we could do it!" said Goofy. "We should go back to the library and try again!"

Gyro stopped Goofy before he could sprint out the door. "Sorry, Goofy, but my prototypes aren't ready just yet. If you're serious about going out and catching ghosts, you'll have to be a little more prepared to do so." He fished around his workplace until he found a folder, which he handed to Mickey. Inside were blueprints, diagrams and notations on a series of complicated machinery.

"These are some of the designs I came up with should the need to catch a ghost ever rise – solely for research, of course. But if these spirits are beginning to take a more malevolent turn like at the library, then maybe the time has come to consider applying them for more philanthropic purposes."

Goofy scratched his head in his confusion. Donald tilted his with an equally perplexed look. Mickey stammered, "You don't mean –" "Think about it, what a service you could be providing to the community; the only official ghost exterminators in town!" The three friends pondered their options in silence. It was Mickey who spoke out first. "You know somethin'…this could actually work."

"Huh?" Donald and Goofy stared in surprise.

"Think about it fellas, we picked up a couple of things about the supernatural while at the college, so it's not like we'd be walking into this knowing nothing. And Gyro's right, we've got the market cornered if we go ahead with it. Plus, we gotta be honest, there's not many other options out there for us right now. What have we got to lose?"

"But where would we get the money?" Donald asked. "That I can help you with. Are you boys familiar with the AJAX corporation?" From his pocket Gyro pulled out a business card with the name AJAX written in large letters. Mickey nodded at the sight of the familiar logo. "Oh sure, they loan their name to all sorts of services. We've even worked for them a couple of times." "Well I can guarantee ghost hunting isn't something they've handled with before. Convince them you've got what it takes to do it under the AJAX name and they can help you get started. Provide you a loan, a car, a building to start out of at least."

Gyro took Mickey by the hand and led him to another workbench. "Now the first thing we have to do is ensure your familiarity with the equipment…" Donald and Goofy lagged behind. "So, catching ghosts…not a bad idea after all, Goofy. I take back some of things I said about you." Donald fished some chocolate from his pocket and reluctantly gave it to him. "Here. You earned it."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** So the plot finally begins!

I always wondered if that failed ESP test in the beginning was part of what led to the guys getting fired in the original movie. I thought I'd tie it back in here as one of the reasons why instead of just having it come completely out of the blue once they return from the library. If this story goes over well, I've got more plans for Mortimer in the future, which means more opportunities for him to get hurt (can't say I'm not looking forward to taht). I thought about having Gyro and Von Drake working together, but it was too similar to DixieMame's great story _The Scarlet_ , plus one character was more than enough (I highly recommend checking out her stories, they were a major inspiration when writing and adapting the characters). If you want to know what's probably going through Mickey's mind while Von Drake is chiding him, then I suggest you go here (copy into your browser and remove the dashes) h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/w-w-w-.-y-o-u-t-u-b-e-.-c-o-m-/-w-a-t-c-h-?-v-=-z-R-d-G-T-Y-o-a-r-B-Y

Thank you for reading, and if you decide to drop a review, not only will it be much appreciated but let me know who you think will be filling Zuul and Gozer's formidable shoes!


	5. Fridge Frights

On a clear day, the sight of Toontown's skyline was breathtaking. There was only one building that marred the view; towering above the rest, standing alone and proud of its grotesquery, was a high rise crowned with thorny spires and gargoyles that would have spooked even the boldest stonemasons. It was a fitting abode for a fairy tale villain, but the unassuming tenants accepted the accoutrements with less than the occasional raised eyebrow or shrug.

One such person who called the building her home stepped out of a taxi, arms brimming with plastic bags, and made her way up to her floor. Balancing her load she carefully knocked on the door of apartment 618. "Daisy, open up. I've got the groceries," she called.

No answer.

She tried again a little louder. "Daisy, it's Minnie! I can't get my keys 'cause my hands are full. Open the -"

The door inched inward and the face of an annoyed girlish duck popped out. "Shh, I heard you the first time, Minnie!" Daisy hissed. "Get in here quick. I've been trying to keep quiet so he won't know we're home -"

"Hiii, girls!"

Daisy winced and forcibly smiled. "Hello, Roger."

Waving from a doorframe down the hall stood a lanky white rabbit with floppy ears, a shock of red hair, and a wide goofy grin. Minnie smiled politely at him over her shoulder. "Hi Roger," she said more sweetly.

"Can I give you a hand with those? I've been working out," Roger asked flexing his noodle-like arms. "I got this new exercise video game, well it's not really an exercise game, it's a game that tricks you into exercising through dancing and stuff but it's close enough, and if you play it long enough you unlock more moves to do that helps you improves your balance, pancakes your posterior, and has you p-p-perspiring in no time!"

Minnie and Daisy winced as flecks of spit sprung from Roger's lips with each p. "That sounds nice, but I'm fine, thanks," Minnie replied, hastily dropping off the grocery bags in Daisy's arms.

"Oh that reminds me, I personally wanted to give you this!" Roger whipped from his overall pocket a square envelope. Minnie opened it; inside was a square notecard printed with the words "You're Invited!" in a loopy bright red that ended in the shape of Roger. "I'm throwin' a party at my place on the 30th and it's gonna be a swingin' shendig! Invitation only! Most everyone's coming, even the Niceland folks in the penthouse! I hope you'll come too, Daisy," he said with a not very subtle wink.

"Ahh, thanks, Roger. We'll try to stop by if we're not busy – hopefully." Daisy pulled Minnie inside before she could say another word. Roger poked his head around the door.

"Oh by the way, you should be careful next time you leave your tv on. It got so loud I could hear it over my workout music, so I turned my volume up; that way nobody else would complain about you being too noisy –" "THANK you, goodbye Roger!" Daisy pushed him out and shut the door.

Relieved her unwelcome neighbor was gone, she leaned back and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "Can you believe that guy? How obnoxious can one rabbit get?" "Oh, he was just trying to do something nice for us," said Minnie as she sorted through the bags. "Why don't you give him a chance?" "Oh p-p-please!" Daisy retorted with a crude imitation of Roger's stutter. "Guys like him are way too desperate. They'd stoop to any level to have a pretty girl on their arm. They've got no self-respect." She began helping Minnie with the groceries.

"Whatever happened to the prince charmings, the dragon slayers, the old-fashioned handsome heroes who'd go through fire and monsters for their true love? Now THAT'S the kind of man I'd take to dinner and a movie." Minnie smiled a little. "Maybe if you weren't so busy looking around for him you might find he's standing right in front of you." Daisy sniffed. "I'm still not going out with Roger. Now I gotta find something to do the night of his party."

It was then the two women noticed the television was still on. "What were you watching?" Minnie asked. "Nothing," replied Daisy. "I got home from work, took a nap, and when I woke up it was on. Weird."

The program ended and went into commercials. The image of a mouse, a duck and a dog in lab coats standing in front of a graveyard appeared on the screen. "Are you troubled by strange and frightening sounds in the night?" questioned the mouse with an authoritative air.

Minnie lost her grip on the bags. "It's him!" she cried. "Who?" Daisy asked. Her friend shushed her as she turned her attention to the tv.

The mouse stepped back and the duck took center stage. "Do you experience dread or a feeling of terror in your basement or attic?" he drawled, clearly wishing to be done quickly. The dog stumbled in front of him. "Have you, uh, have you…" He squinted at something off-camera. "Oh! Have you or your loved ones ever seen a spook, specter, or ghost, a-hyuck!"

"Then don't delay!" the mouse called out. "Call Ajax Ghostbusters, the ghost hunting professionals here to help you with any and all paranormal needs." The three pointed directly at the camera as their name and phone number cheaply flashed across the screen. "Ajax Ghostbusters! We bust ghosts!"

Daisy frowned in contempt. "That's got to be the worst commercial I've ever seen – hey!" Minnie didn't stop jotting down the number even as her friend switched the tv off. "You can't possibly believe those guys are serious, can you?" Minnie finished "You don't understand, that was Mickey!" Daisy tried to remember where she heard that name before. "Mickey, Mickey…you mean that professor you had a crush on? The one that stood you up 'cause he got fired?" Minnie nodded and took the groceries into the kitchen.

"I knew I should have given him my phone number before I left. When I went to his office that night I learned he and his friends were kicked off of campus. Mortimer told me he was the one who went to the dean and told him about the experiment with the shock testing. And then he had the nerve to ask me out! Of all the dirty, no good…" She heaved the vegetables on to the kitchen table with an extra hard slam.

Daisy couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "You can't deny it though, it was nice letting that jerk finally have it." That put a tiny grin back on Minnie's face. "Well, that slap did feel pretty good. But I meant it when I said I'd never speak to him again, so there."

While the girls stored their food in the cabinets, neither of them paid attention to a carton of eggs left on the countertop; neither did they notice when the eggs began to shake on their own. The carton popped open and one by one the eggs leaped out. They began to hiss and bubble as they cracked up and cooked themselves on the counter.

It was Daisy who smelled the trouble first. She tugged on her friend's sleeve. Minnie's eyes widened at the unusual sight.

A tin of baked beans launched its lid into the ceiling and the contents flowed over the brim. The counter began to shake; rattling drawers slid out and the silverware clattered on to the floor. The floor quaked beneath their feet.

Minnie stammered "D-Daisy…"

A loud growl emanated from the refrigerator.

Minnie and Daisy slowly faced the source. Lights shone out from the edges of the refrigerator door. The two looked at each other, knowing full well that neither of them wanted to find out what it was, but tentatively stepped forward. Daisy laughed nervously. "It's probably acting up again; rusty motor, lightbulb's gone wonky…" This did nothing to convince either of them that they had everything in hand.

As Minnie peeked over her shoulder, Daisy slowly opened the refrigerator. What she saw made her jaw dropped with twice the speed.

Inside was a swirling abyss; smoky shapes and shadows gathered around the edges of a great pyramid in the center, hissing, screeching, cackling.

The pyramid opened up, and something enormous hidden in black emerged. Daisy was blasted with a burst of light and hot air reeking of decay as a demonic voice roared –

 ** _DEIMOOOOOSSSSS_**

Daisy and Minnie shrieked in terror and slammed the fridge shut.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So this was a very interesting part to write. I knew I wanted Minnie to be in the story, but I didn't really want to write her into Dana's role. Minnie's often played damsels in distress in cartoons of the past, but she rarely takes it without a fight, plus there are plenty of times where she and Mickey make a great team and not just a cute couple. Having her be the one that needs to be rescued, well, it's been done, and I wanted her to have a more active role in the plot. Then I began wondering whether or not Daisy would be a part of the story. Her sass combined with Donald essentially being Venkman made her a perfect candidate, though I decided to make her and Minnie roommates for the sake of keeping the plot threads tied together. For the record, Minnie's still in college while Daisy is working.

And I don't think I have to tell you who's playing Louis. He was one of the first characters I cast, it just seemed to work when I wrote it down, especially when you see who's playing Jeanine in the next chapter. Also the invitation design is partly based on the poster for _Who Framed Roger Rabbit._ God I love that movie.

I embellished the buildup to Zuul's - or in this case, Deimos' - reveal because one, I didn't think it was scary enough when written down (much more effective in the movie) and two, I didn't want to copy the scene beat by beat.

Any reviews will be appreciated, and thanks for reading!


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